The Department of Agriculture (DA) is mulling over the importation of at least 200,000 metric tons (MT) of corn following the devastation wrought by Typhoon Ompong in Northern Luzon, even as the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) projected a 4.1-percent palay output decline in the third quarter to 3.25 million metric tons from last year’s 3.39 MMT due to typhoons.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said the 90-percent wipeout of corn farms in Northern Luzon, which includes Cagayan Valley, the country’s top corn-producing region, may prompt the government to import the grain.
Total losses
Farmers incurred losses amounting to P14.27 billion as Typhoon Ompong affected about 553,704 hectares in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Regions 1, 2, 3 and 4A with an estimated production loss of 731,294 MT, according to the latest DA report.
The report added rice accounted for 62.82 percent of the recorded production loss at a total of amount of P8.97 billion with 212,491 farmers affected.
The affected areas were estimated to reach 995,218 hectares which had an estimated 435,997-MT output, which is equivalent to 8.64 days of the country’s daily rice requirement, according to the DA.
“Provinces heavily affected include Nueva Ecija in Region 3, still amounting to P2.84 billion, followed by Cagayan in Region 2 with P2.77 billion,” it said in its latest damage assessment report on Monday.
Corn farmers incurred losses amounting to P4.5 billion as Typhoon Ompong wiped out about 148,587 hectares of farms with an estimated output of 281,039 metric tons.
“[Agriculture] suffered a major blow from [Typhoon] Ompong. We are seeing what we feared most—the worst-case scenario of between P11 billion and P12 billion worth of damage,” Pinol told the BusinessMirror.
“The rice sector could recover but we lost 90 percent of corn [production]. We may need to import corn to fill-up the shortage,” he added.
Piñol said the he is looking at an initial 200,000-MT corn imports but added that he is still “exploring” the best way to bring in the volume that would not harm local farmers.
Piñol also assured corn farmers that if the government pushes through with the importation it would not be duty-free.
“We can’t do that. It will jeopardize our corn program,” he said when asked if the imports would be at zero tariff. “This is a short-term problem, hence, a short-term solution,” Piñol said.
Rice supply projection
Meanwhile, the PSA’s latest rice forecast as of August 1 is also 2.1 percent lower than the 3.32 MMT output it projected in July.
“Probable drop in palay production may be attributed to the effect of southwest monsoon or habagat in July, during the reproductive and maturing stages of the crop in most provinces of Northern Luzon,” the PSA said in its latest output forecast published recently.
“[The] bulk of the decrement may come from Nueva Ecija. Moreover, recent typhoons Henry, Inday and Josie may affect the output in Pampanga and Tarlac,” it added.
The PSA estimates that palay harvest area in the July-to-September period would shrink by 3.3 percent to 824,493 hectares, from 852,630 has last year.
Likewise, yield per hectare is expected to decrease to 3.94 MT per hectare, from 3.98 MT per hectare, according to the PSA.
“On the standing crop, around 101,960 hectares, or 12.4 percent, had been harvested,” it said.
“More than half [73.9 percent] of the 2.011 [million] hectares of standing crop were still at vegetative stage, about 17.6 percent at reproductive stage, and the remaining 8.5 percent at maturing stage,” it added.
The PSA said about 66.8 percent of the farmers’ planting intentions for fourth quarter or about 1.289 million hectares have been already planted.
Furthermore, the PSA estimates that total corn harvest in the July-to-September period would decline by 16 percent to 2.176 MMT, from last year’s 2.589 MMT recorded output.
The PSA said harvest area may decrease by 11.38 percent to 783,600 hectares, from 884,210 hectares last year. Likewise, yield per hectare may decline, from 2.93 MT per hectare to 2.78 MT per hectare.
“The probable cut-back in corn production may also be attributed to the effect of habagat which may pull down the yield in Negros Oriental, South Cotabato and Sarangani,” the PSA said.
“Yield may decrease in Cebu due to insufficient soil moisture during vegetative stage of corn. Decrement of corn area in Oriental Mindoro was caused by flood from typhoon Josie last July,” the PSA added.
The PSA said as of August 1 around 148,850 hectares or about 19 percent of the standing crops have been harvested.
Almost half of the 1.195 million hectares of the standing crop were at vegetative stage, while about 29 percent and 24.6 percent were at reproducive and maturing stage, respectively.
“With reference to the farmers’ planting intentions for October-December 2018, about 560,000 hectares [81.9 percent] have been planted,” the PSA said.